Waking Up
by MandaRae17
Summary: Life didn't turn out the way it was supposed to for Hermione Granger. Battling depression and night terrors, she begins to find her way again. Rated T for themes regarding depression (I consider it too mature for younger than 13), language and possible romantic scenes in the future (not M-rated). Not entirely sure where this fic is going to go. Review or PM me with suggestions!
1. Chapter 1

**Waking Up**

DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything to do with Harry Potter or his world.**  
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_Author's Note: Just wrote this as it came to me right now, been tossing around this idea for a little while. Wanted some input on what people think. If I get good feedback, and more inspiration, I'm going to try to write more of this in the next few days. I guess going through my old fic and revamping got me feeling creative again. Let me know what you think. _**  
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**Chapter 1: The Mist**

Five years had passed since the end of the war, but for Hermione, it still seemed like yesterday, especially on nights like this - cold, misty nights with a fog so thick you couldn't see your hands outstretched in front of you, let alone the stars dotting the night sky. On these nights, Hermione could still feel the sharp sting of the Bellatrix's dagger spelling out that nasty word into her skin, she could still see the pain in Ron's eyes after his splinching, she could still feel her heart drumming madly against her chest as she realized it was Harry's limp body that Hagrid was carrying...

Yes, it was four years later, but the horrible events of that last year had not left her. Currently, her mind was in the present. Hermione tugged her robe tighter around her thin form, shifting her legs a bit so they didn't go numb propped up the way they were against the open window. The cold, moist air being her favorite antidote to her night terrors. She'd woken up in a cold sweat again, short of breath, heart thrumming, her eyes wide with fear. Now, however, she was lost in thought.

Life hadn't quite gone the way she thought it would. Her long-time-coming romance with Ron had been something of a disappointment. She certainly didn't think the after-effects of the war would be like this. And her career was taking a backseat because of it. Hermione Granger was twenty-two, and this was not what she wanted. Had you asked her ten years ago where she thought she would be at twenty-two, this was definitely not what she would have told you. Maybe somethings would be the same, but on the whole - No, this is not what she had wanted.

Hermione had expected to be deeply in love, preferably with Ronald Weasley, and engaged - if not married. No kids yet, but perhaps they would be thinking about it. The war would have been won, of course, and she would be a strong, healthy witch with several committees answering to her. She wanted to be making a difference in the lives of underappreciated magical beings everywhere. And maybe even have been published, written articles for esteemed scholarly magazines, and a book in the works. She knew at twenty-two she would be too young to settle down and teach at Hogwarts, but she wanted to be on her way.

Her life had definitely not turned out the way she wanted.

Truthfully, she wasn't upset anymore about things with Ron not working out. Turns out, they really were just much better as best friends. The attraction had been there, but it fizzled out rather quickly. They argued more often (if you could imagine that!), and they began to realize that they were not compatible as a couple at all, and they missed the friendship they had shared. It took a while, but after their whirlwind of a relationship things eventually went back to the way they had been. But after it had all died down, and she moved into her little flat above a shop in Diagon Alley, her depression set in... And then came the night terrors. And the next three and a half years blurred together.

The horrors she had witnessed during the war had finally come back to haunt her. It wasn't every night, or even every week, but when they hit it left her shaken for a few days. It started with the dreams. She'd dream in flashbacks, different frightening moments from that last year. And then they'd morph into hideous nightmares, and they didn't end the way they should have. Ron getting splinched while on the run turned into Ron losing his arm and the snatchers were there, torturing Harry and herself. The night in Godric's Hollow did not end with their narrow escape, but instead with Harry lying on the floor of the upstairs room bleeding profusely from snake bite wounds while she desperately tried to stop the bleeding. But then, she'd wake, shaking, crying, gasping for air. She knew there were potions she could take, different draughts to make it easier. But she also knew that there were risks of becoming dependent. She didn't want that, so she endured, and found different ways to calm herself. For her, letting the cool, moist evening air wash over her face was the best way, though not always possible.

The sound of fluttering wings brought Hermione out of her daze. She opened her eyes, she hadn't realized she had indeed started to doze off in her seat by the window, to see a familiar grey owl perched there. The owl gazed at Hermione with what seemed to Hermione as a knowing look. Hermione smiled reluctantly, and took the letter from the owl. Instead of taking flight, as per usual for owl post, the owl simply fixed Hermione with her knowing gaze and waited. Hermione sighed, realizing that the owl wanted a response. Thinking it was a rather odd time for mail, she looked at the clock and did a small doubletake when she saw it really wasn't that late at all, it was only half-past eight. She had, after all, fallen asleep rather early this night and apparently her demons had taken no time at all before coming to haunt her.

Hermione turned her attention to the letter in her hand, and slit open the seal.

_Hermione -  
__I tried your floo but you weren't responding, I figured you must be in your bedroom.  
__Come to St. Mungo's NOW! The baby is coming!  
__-Harry_

Hermione gasped, jumping up from her chair, startling Thalia, Harry's beautiful Great Grey owl. She rushed to her desk, flipped Harry's hurriedly scrawled note over and wrote her short reply on the back before attaching the note to Thalia's leg, knowing the owl would get the note to Harry quickly.

_Harry,  
__I'm on my way.  
__-Hermione_

Without even bothering to watch the owl take off into the night, Hermione ran to her closet, quickly changing into the first set of robes she could find. She grabbed her handbag off the dressor on her way out her bedroom door. Her stomach rumbled as she crossed into the kitchen, so she grabbed a banana off the counter and scarfed it down, not knowing exactly when she'd get the chance to eat something. With that, she strode into her small living room, grabbed a handful of Floo Powder out of the pot on the mantel, and in a flash, she was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: Oh, baby!**

_Author's Note: Just wanted to apologize for the wait! I was trying to think of where exactly I wanted this to go, and I had a small bout of writer's block... I think I have a little better idea of where this may go now... So, read and find out! __Enjoy!_

St. Mungo's maternity ward was filled to the brim with excited, nervous redheads when Hermione arrived. She immediately spotted the lone brunette, and rushed to his side.

"Harry!" Hermione cried, pulling him into a hug, "How's Ginny?"

"From what the healers are saying, she's doing great. But you know Gin... She won't let me in the room. Doesn't want me to see her like that..." Harry rolled his eyes, but the exasperated look didn't last long. The smile on his face was so broad and genuine, it made Hermione slightly jealous. A healer emerged from the room they were gathered around, and Harry strode forward to meet him.

Truth be told, she'd always been a bit jealous of her two best friends. The love they shared, the life they shared - it was all what she had wanted. Not that it didn't make her happy to know that her closest of friends had everything they could want, but every now and again she would feel a twinge of envy.

She took in the inhabitants of the room around her, all of her most favorite people in the wizarding world were here. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Charlie, George, Ron, and Harry. She smiled to herself, knowing that if nothing else, she did have _this_ family. She just wished she had a family of her own, a husband to love and children to spoil. She sat down in one of the chairs, feeling tired after having been woken up by a night terror and now all the commotion in the waiting room making her even more tired. She watched as the Weasley family chatted to each other. Ron made his way over and sat down beside her, she looked up and smiled. After everything, they were still good friends.

"Hey, how are you feeling? You look tired," Ron said, his voice slightly concerned. Hermione just nodded, explaining that she had just been starting to fall asleep when Harry's owl came. She had gotten used to telling lies like these. She didn't want anyone knowing, or worrying about her condition. She let her eyes wander around the waiting room, hoping it came off as nonchalance.

Across the waiting room, sitting quietly in the corner, was Draco Malfoy. Hermione raised her eyebrows at this, wondering what on earth he was doing in the maternity ward. After all, it was a widely known fact that him and Astoria Greengrass were divorced now. Witch Weekly was all over that news, of course, constantly reporting new rumors about the newly single Draco Malfoy, and just how eligible a bachelor he was now.

After the war, the Malfoy's laid low for a long while, and then slowly began their ascent back up into wizarding society. Draco had taken over as head of the family as Lucius had been sent to Azkaban for the remainder of his life. He had worked hard to reintroduce the Malfoy name in good light. He invested in several muggle-born owned companies, donated to various charities, and in general stayed on the straight and narrow. He gave Harry, as the new head of the Auror department, free reign to search the manor and take into custody any dark items, or other evidence, that would help in their Death Eater investigations. On the whole, Draco Malfoy did anything he could to make sure his name was in good standing with the wizarding world. And from what Harry had said, he was certainly not the git he had been at Hogwarts anymore. Along with all the things Draco had done financially to help his new image, he had also signed up to join the Auror force - now he was a full-fledged Auror. Hermione had only had passing interactions with him in her work at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement as she didn't do any field work. Hermione mostly worked with proposed laws, so she didn't interact much with the Aurors, just passing through in the department office. The most interaction she had with Draco Malfoy anymore was the occasional polite nod when they happened to be arriving or leaving their offices at the same time - his office was directly across the hallway from hers.

Hermione knew that Harry and Draco had maintained a good working relationship, what with Harry being Draco's boss and Draco being one of the higher ranking Aurors, but she still was bewildered to see him here, in the waiting room while Harry's wife gave birth. With this thought, she nudged Ron and beckoned him closer.

"What is Draco Malfoy doing here?" Hermione whispered, pointing over to where the blonde sat quietly. Ron's eyes widened, never having quite gotten used to Harry knowing Malfoy, and looked to where Hermione pointed.

"Bloody hell!" Ron swore, though not so loudly anyone else heard, "I haven't got a clue... Ask Harry?"

"Ask me what?" Harry had appeared next to them, obviously done speaking with the healer, "Ginny's doing great! The healer said maybe a few more minutes!" His voice gave off waves of excitement, and Hermione could tell that her best friend couldn't be happier right in that moment. "Ask me what?" Harry repeated, when no one said anything.

"Well, I know you get along with the bloke now and all, but... Why the hell is Malfoy here, mate?" Ron burst out.

"Huh?" Harry looked around the waiting room, "Oh, well... Not that it's really anyone's business... But Astoria found out she was pregnant about a month after their divorce finalized. So, I reckon he's here for her. You know, he's worked hard to keep this out of the papers..." Harry trailed off, looking across the room as well.

"So... What you're saying is that my nephew and the spawn of evil are sharing a birthday?" Ron said in a mock-serious fashion. At this, Hermione and Harry both snorted rather inelegantly.

"Really, Ron... Malfoy has changed since Hogwarts. You know his office is across from mine, and he hasn't once said anything rude to me, or even shoot me a dirty look," Hermione stated after a moment.

"Yeah, yeah..." was Ron's disbelieving reply.

Hermione let her eyes wander over to the quiet blonde. She watched as a healer made her way over to him. The healer must have brought good news, because as the healer spoke Draco raised his head eagerly and his eyes widened in excitement. He quickly rose from his seat and followed the healer down a hallway. Hermione smiled to herself, it was amazing to see how much a person could change. Who would have thought Draco Malfoy would look that excited about a baby?

While she was lost in thought, Ginny's healer must have made another appearance because Harry's excited voice broke through her wonderings.

"Everyone, come meet James Sirius Potter!"

Hermione stood at once, and followed Harry and the Weasley's down the same hallway she had just watched Malfoy disappear down. _'This must be where the nursery is...'_ Hermione thought. Sure enough they arrived at the nursery, and watched as Harry showed off his newborn son. James Sirius Potter was a spitting image of his father, right down to the striking green eyes.

After a good while, the Weasley's filtered out to go see how Ginny was doing. Soon, Harry and Hermione were the only two left; Harry not wanting to leave his newborn son's side, and Hermione not wanting to crowd Ginny any more than she would already be with all her family in the room.

Harry was silently staring at his first-born with an awed expression. Hermione, not wanting to interrupt the new father, quietly walked away, winding slowly through the dozens of cribs, gazing down at the babies. Not fully paying attention to wear she was going, Hermione soon walked straight into something solid.

"Umph... I'm so sorry..." Hermione began, looking up to see who she'd ran into. Her honey brown eyes met with a stunning pair of slate grey ones, slightly widened in surprise. Draco Malfoy reached out to steady her.

"Are you okay?" he asked in his deep voice. Hermione just nodded in response, embarrassed to have run into him. And his eyes were just so...

She shook herself mentally. Now, that was different. She smiled, and looked down at the beautiful baby boy whose crib they were standing in front of.

"Is he yours?" she asked, trying to sound like she hadn't just been thinking about how much Malfoy had changed - inside and out - since school. Draco nodded, and looked down at his son, a genuine smile gracing his face, so very different from his old smirk.

"Yeah, this is my son. Scorpius Hyperion," he said quietly. He looked back up at her, "So, I take it you're here for the Potter's? Funny how our son's share a birthday..." He trailed off, seeming slightly nervous.

"Oh, yeah. James, I'm the godmother..." she replied, trailing off also, not sure of what else to say. What do you say to someone you spent a good seven years hating? "Well, I'm going to get back..." And with that, Hermione turned and made her way back over to Harry and James. Not at all noticing the way Draco Malfoy's eyes followed her as she moved.

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_So... I think it is safe to say this is heading in a Dramione direction :D I couldn't help myself, I just love them together... And as for Draco seeming so uncharacteristically nice/polite... well, I'm chalking it up to shock - he was emotionally vulnerable (I see him as a huge, loving teddy-bear of a father, though that would be a private thing, would it not?) and that he was not prepared to run into Hermione outside of the office, let alone in the nursery at St. Mungo's. As I explained, he's a good guy and he and Harry get along well at work - so it's not like he was going to be RUDE to her.. so yeah. Thats enough explanation for now. If you want any more explanation, have questions, comments, concerns, etc... Review! I have none so far, and I would love to have some feedback._

_Thank you! And please review!_


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